Page 121 of Never Will I Ever

“The dean offered me a spot back at Foltyn, and after thanking him for his consideration, I turned him down.”

I can’t control my eyes from bugging out of their socket at the statement. “Why?”

Getting back into school was exactly what he wanted. Hell, it was the entire reason he ended up at Alpine Ridge in the first place, and now he’s justturning it down?If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he fell ill with some sort of disease that made him lose all common sense.

Yet, from the look on his face, this decision was made with a sound mind.

“I know you’re probably thinking I’m crazy, but…I couldn’t take another easy way out.”

“What are you gonna do, then?”

“Haven’t quite figured that out yet, but I’ve got a few options. Not that it really matters anymore.”

I blink a few times, still a little in shock. “Of course it does, Avery. It’s your future we’re talking about. That should matter more than anything else.”

How is he being so cavalier about this?

But when I truly study his face, I realize it’s because he’s at peace.

“You know, I believed that at one point too,” he starts, slicing through my thoughts. “I believed graduating on time and making my dad proud of me and all the other noise should be my top priority. I was miserable as hell living like that, but it was all I knew. Then I ended up at summer camp, of all places, with the one person who took those things away from me.”

My skin heats, both from his words and the way he’s staringstraight into my soul, as he takes a few slow steps toward me, closing the distance between us to nothing more than a foot.

“The funny thing is, somewhere in the midst of all the blisters and sunburns and outdoor activities with our group of chaotic gremlin children, I realized there are far more important things than what brought me to camp in the first place. Like allowing myself to be free of the shame and fear that have been controlling me. You’re the one who gave me that.”

“You did the work—”

“But you gave me the strength to try. The means to succeed. You silenced the deafening screams, taught me how to lock up the darkness and finally let in the light.” He pauses and wets his lips before glancing around the stadium. “So while trying to get back into Foltyn might’ve been the goal when all this started, it’s not worth it anymore. It’s not important, and I sure as fuck don’t want it.”

My disbelief can’t be contained, leaving my body in the form of incredulous laughter. “Then why are you here? If this doesn’t matter, why come back? Why tell me all this—”

“Because I love you.”

The words are a hundred volts straight to my heart, reviving the organ instantly; filling it with new life and pumping warmth to the rest of my body.

My head, on the other hand, isn’t convinced.

“Avery…”

“No, just let me get this out,” he murmurs, his eyes pleading.

One hand reaches up, slipping around my neck to cradle the back of my skull, and I shiver with the feel of his skin against mine for the first time in what feels like a lifetime.

“I’ve fucked up a lot, I know that. And, honestly, I know I will again. I can’t promise you perfection; I’m a work in progress at best. There will be moments when I revert back to those old habits or when shame creeps in, and it’ll be hard to witness. Butnever will I ever turn my back on the person you helped me become; the person you saw all along.”

A somber smile pulls at his lips while his gaze maps my face. “I’m so fucking in love with you, Kaleb. So I’ll give you my all—every shameful, imperfect part of me—and I can only hope it’s worth a fraction of you.”

If I thought I was shot up with warmth before, it has nothing on how I’m feeling right now. Hearing him bare his heart and soul to me, handing me every piece of who he is—every flaw he has and misstep he’s yet to make—has my entire being consumed in heat. In hope.

In love.

And God, I love him.

I’m stupidly head over heels for the guy, having fallen in spite of myself. So while I know loving him won’t be easy, I do know there’s no one I’d rather guide through the hardest parts.

My eyes rake over his features, mapping every line and freckle on his tanned face while he waits, ever so patiently, for an answer. The one I knew all along, despite fighting it at every turn.

But I’m done fighting for anything but us.

---